FROM £3299.00

Departing From

Aberdeen

Edinburgh

Glasgow

Other UK airports also available

Departure dates

9th September 2020

11th September 2020

South Africa boasts some of the most diverse and spectacular landscapes and wildlife in the world. Venture into its wild heart in search of the Big Five at Kruger National Park. Visit Swaziland and the battlefield at Rorke’s Drift, fly to Port Elizabeth to follow the Garden Route to Knysna, and complete your travels with a tour of the Winelands District and the chance to explore Cape Town.

Classic South Africa Available Departures:

Dates and prices published on this page are for the departures flying from Aberdeen, Edinburgh & Glasgow only

Fly from Aberdeen – various dates available until November 2020 – from £3,399pp

Fly from Edinburgh – various dates available until November 2020 – from £3,299pp

Fly from Glasgow – various dates available until November 2020 – from £3,399pp

Itinerary

Day One: Fly to Johannesburg

Fly overnight to Johannesburg.

Day Two: Arrive in Johannesburg

Meet your Tour Manager and transfer to Lesedi Cultural Village. You’ll spend two nights here in traditional surroundings, staying at the heart of the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site. Enjoy a light meal and your first night under African skies.

Day Three: Visit Liliesleaf Farm and Johannesburg’s Apartheid Museum

Discover the history behind today’s democratic South Africa as we visit The 28-acre farmstead at Liliesleaf – once the underground headquarters of the ANC and Umkhonto we Sizwe – and Johannesburg’s Apartheid Museum.

This evening, enjoy the hospitality of your Lesedi hosts, who will introduce their cultures, welcome you into their homes and perform traditional music and dances.

Day Four: Mpumalanga and Kruger National Park

Today we’ll follow Mpumalanga’s Panorama Route to the gold-rush town of Pilgrim’s Rest and the mountain passes overlooking the vastness of Blyde River Canyon. Take in the enormous view from God’s Window on the Drakensberg escarpment, the towering grass-covered peaks of the Three Rondavels and the colourful water-worn rock formations of Bourke’s Luck Potholes.

Day Five: Kruger National Park and a braai dinner

After an early breakfast we’ll head to Kruger National Park, Africa’s oldest wildlife conservation area. Here you’ll spend the night under canvas at the newly refurbished Shalati Kruger Lodge. Take your first game drive, into Manyeleti Private Game Reserve, as the sun sets and (weather permitting) enjoy a bush braai dinner beneath the star-filled sky.

Day Six: Spot the Big Five in Kruger National Park

Start you day with a guided bush walk and bush breakfast, then head into Kruger National Park. The reserve is the natural habitat of some of the world’s most recognisable wildlife, and with luck you’ll encounter impala, wildebeest, giraffe and zebra – as well as the Big Five (lions, rhinos, elephants, leopards and buffalo) on a game drive in an open-top vehicle.

Day Seven: Cross the border into Swaziland

A British Protectorate until 1968, Swaziland’s culture still mixes colonial ideas with its strong tribal traditions. Cross the border and spend a day visiting cultural centres and craft shops before crossing back into South Africa and through the northern valleys of Kwazulu-Natal on your way to your next hotel.

Day Eight: Zulu battlefields and Rorke’s Drift

Discover the true stories of the Zulu wars, as you explore the battlefields of Isandlwana and Rorke’s Drift in the company of a specialist guide. This fascinating day includes lunch, and you’ll return to the hotel in time for dinner.

Day Nine: Fly to Port Elizabeth

You’ll have an early start this morning as we return to Johannesburg airport and fly south to Port Elizabeth. You’ll be transferred to your hotel by coach and then have the evening free to explore this popular beach resort, which still retains traces of its Victorian colonial past and boasts a vibrant and varied dining scene.

Day 10: Travel along the Garden Route to Knysna

This morning you’ll follow the Garden Route to Knysna, a town of Victorian and Georgian houses on the wooded banks of a beautiful lagoon. Take the ferry to Featherbed Nature Reserve, home to some 200 species of fish as well as a particularly rare species of seahorse, and take a drive through the natural beauty of Western Head to have lunch in the shade of milkwood trees.

Day 11: See ostriches in Oudtshoorn

Sunny Oudtshoorn has been christened the Ostrich Capital of the World. The world’s strangest, largest and often most valuable bird has been farmed here for 130 years. First for its plumage and now for its high-protein, low-cholesterol meat – samples of which will be offered at lunchtime.

Later, enjoy another relaxing evening in Knysna.

Day 12: See the whales in Hermanus

Head west along the Garden Route to sleepy Mossel Bay and on to Hermanus. Between July and November, the waters here teem with whales and you’ll have the chance to see them from the shore before turning inland into the Cape Winelands to spend the night at a lodge looking out across Cape vineyards to the Stellenbosch mountains.

Day 13: Tour the winelands of the Western Cape

Today’s tour of the Winelands will take you through a rolling landscape of vineyards and villages. Explore Stellenbosch, Franschhoek (now regarded as the culinary capital of the Western Cape) and Paarl. During the day, there will be winetasting, a cellar tour, and the opportunity to purchase some excellent wines.

Later we’ll head to Cape Town, and check in to our final hotel for a three-night stay.

Day 14: Visit Cape Point and the penguins at Boulder’s Beach

Our final day of touring takes us along the Atlantic coast (weather permitting, following the winding cliff-side Tarmac of Chapman’s Peak Drive), into the Cape Point Peninsula. See Cape Point, in the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve, and the colony of jackass penguins at Boulder’s Beach. Enjoy lunch overlooking False Bay, and visit magnificent Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden at the eastern foot of Table Mountain.

Back in Cape Town, this evening, explore the shops, theatres, restaurants and bars of the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront.

Day 15: Free day in Cape Town

Today you’re free to enjoy Cape Town. Why not join a walking tour through the Dutch colonial houses of the Bo-Kaap district, stroll along the tree-lined paths of The Company’s Garden, catch a catamaran to the prison at Robben Island where Nelson Mandela spent 18 of his 27 years in prison, or take in the unforgettable views from a rotating cable car as it climbs to the peak of Table Mountain?

Day 16: Overnight flight back to the UK

Make the most of your last morning in Cape Town, then transfer to the airport to board your overnight flight home.

Day 17: Arrive in the UK

Arrive back in the UK at the end of a wonderful South African adventure.

Operated by Newmarket Promotions/Air Holidays Ltd. ABTA V787X/V7812. ATOL protected 2325. Single supplements apply. Standard call charges apply. The price was correct at the time of publishing and while every effort is made to ensure these are as accurate as possible , they can fluctuate suddenly due to demand.